Code
by Yami-chan and Unrealistic
Summary: The human Paladins find a common bond that keeps them reminded of home. They see it as a fun game, but are grateful when in comes in handy during a diplomatic mission gone wrong. A Voltron musical of a different sort.


Started this as an experiment. The direction of the fic was dictated by whatever song was on the radio at the point of writing. Ended up jiving with both Pidge birthday week and Platonic VLD week, which made me really happy that I could to contribute something to both. Connection for Pidge and Group for Platonic week. I hope it gives you a smile. How many songs can you recognize?

Takes place ambiguously during seasons one and two.

XXXXX

"Oh come on, give me a sign! Tell me what I'm missing!" Pidge growled at her computer, giving a few not so gentle love taps to the side of the screen. She'd finished what she had hoped was her last line of code an hour ago, but it still wouldn't run. It had to be a missing comma, it always was!

Lance raised an eyebrow and slowly sat up from his former position sprawled out on the floor. "Hit me baby one more time?"

Hunk paused in his own project just long enough to gently slug his friend in the arm, a sly grin plastered to his face.

"Owww, Hunk!" Lance dramatically complained, holding the injured arm in childish protest.

"Britney Spears. 1998. A little out of left field, you deserved that," Pidge commented. Her eyes never left the laptop screen, still searching for the missing piece to her script.

The boys stared at her in disbelief. Her eyes were fixated on the monitor and it took her nearly a full minute to notice the silence of Hunk not typing and Lance not talking.

"What?" Pidge raised an eyebrow, eyeing both of them. "I know my oldies just as well as you two."

Lance walked like a zombie over to her, eyes never wavering and mouth open limply in shock. He sat down in the chair next to her, then abruptly broke into a wild, maniacal grin. A grin that could only mean trouble for her. She unconsciously leaned back and her glasses fell down the bridge of her nose.

"Pidge this is amazing, you totally should have told us you knew your music history! We would have owned Trivia Tuesday," he finally rambled.

"With how much time we spent practicing around you, I'm surprised it took this long to join in," Hunk added.

"Yeah, I know. I was there," Pidge groaned, adjusting her glasses. She rested an elbow on the table. "I had more important things to worry about at the time. Still have more important things to worry about," she amended, a sobering look shadowing her face.

Lance and Hunk shared a concerned look with each other for their teammate.

"We'll find your family, Pidge," Lance said after the moment of silence. His voice was full of compassion and Pidge's features visibly melted at the solidarity. "We're a real team now and we all want your family safe too."

"Your dad's a certified genius. I'm sure he's making the Galra go mad this very minute," Hunk said with a wide smile.

Pidge cracked a smile. "Thanks guys, I needed that. I couldn't ask for a better crew."

Hunk's lower lip began to wobble. "Aw, I sense a group hug coming on!" Before any protest could be staged the Yellow Paladin had the other two squeezed tightly in each arm, tears streaming down his face. "I won't let you guys go."

Lance, used to spontaneous hugs, grinned. "At any price?"

Exasperated, but smiling, Pidge sighed. "Not exactly the spirit of the song, but we'll definitely always be friends."

It only made Hunk cry harder.

For a while the game remained a fun pastime between the three of them. It was the type of team building activity the Garrison would have been proud of.

Lance lay on his bed. His head rested on the pillow, pajamas on, and facemask firmly in place. "Ahh, this feel so ni-"

"Right," Hunk interrupted, taking another bite of a pizza roll as he smirked. He was seated on the floor, also in his pajamas, back against Lance's bed.

"Cuts like a knife," Pidge added nearly automatically. She simultaneously selected the sword attack from her character in Killbot Phantasm. The attack landed with a critical hit. The three looked up at each other and burst into laughter.

Understandably, the Alteans would get a bit confused.

"Who is this Caroline and why is she so sweet? It has been driving me mad all week."

"Is there a particular reason why your Mondays are manic? It isn't even close to hump day! Let me tell you about Phleutem! That's the second day of the astral conflux. At the last hour the duflax would migrate from the castle ponds to the mountain streams. They went straight through town and caused havoc in the marketplace! Poor things never did like to fly."

"I already have a hip, why would I need to shapeshift into a Voloxian? I prefer a body shape that is… less geometrical."

While the concept of poetry and songwriting was universal, it was amusing way to spend downtime explaining context to their alien hosts.

"What does a food storage system have to do with playing the - you said it was a guitar?" Allura asked.

"Yeah, the guy wants to be famous and popular instead of moving heavy objects around in a store," Pidge explained. She sat crossed legged on Allura's bed while enjoyed their time with the rare visitor to the room. Pidge humored them and fell backwards into the sheets, letting the mice claim victory in their play fight against her.

Allura thought about it for a moment, a perplexed look stuck to her face. "If he'd been Altean, he would already be famous. A competition of moving odd shaped and heavy objects was more of a spectacle than our bards."

Pidge raised her eyebrows, a skeptical look taking over. "I'm almost afraid to ask."

"It was a fun contest," Allura said fondly. "I didn't have a pet to compete with, but it was a spectacle to behold Altean and Klanmurl working side by side to move spacecraft."

Pidge was used to hearing about different Altean traditions at this point, but it didn't make them sound any less strange to her ears. "Sure sounds… interesting."

Allura twirled back around to face her closet, Chulatt now resting on her shoulder and mimicking her indecisive look. "Where did I put that box I wonder? I could have sworn it was in the left corner."

The rest of the mice abandoned their game with Pidge and scampered past Allura's feet and into the closet. With Platt on the bottom, they set themselves up on top of each other and clumsily tore away an old blanket that blended in a little too well with its surroundings, revealing several dusty boxes of various sizes.

Allura beamed. "I don't know what I would do without you, friends. You are true heroes."

The mice preened, with Chluchule looking more embarrassed from the praise than anything.

Allura selected one of the boxes, perhaps the size of a children's shoebox. She blew off the dust and opened the top. Despite the old look of the container, inside were bright jewels of all kinds. Pidge had to briefly close her eyes from the glare.

"Is that the one?" Pidge asked excitedly as her eyes adjusted.

Allura nodded with a smile. "It is. Many of these are meant for children, however…" Allura gently and quickly moved the jewels around before finding what she was after. "I lost the second of the pair a long time ago, but it should still function as a communicator."

Pidge grinned as the princess placed a single green colored earring in the palm of her hands. "It's the same as the ones you wear?"

"Yes! As promised you may take this one apart if you'd like. Without the other it it doesn't suit my preferred style," Allura said a bit sadly.

Pidge inspected the gem with scrutiny, a frown forming as she observed Allura's increasingly homesick face. Guilt washed over her. "You know," Pidge began slowly, "I could probably run some tests on it first. Make sure it still works and all. I've always wanted to try something other than studs."

Allura perked up, snatching the earring and attaching it to Pidge's left ear. "I'm so glad I kept it. It must be fate!" The princess stepped back to admire her work, very pleased. "It looks exquisite!"

Pidge recovered from the sudden action and tentatively flicked the gem with her index finger, side eyeing it inquisitively. It swung quickly back and forth from her ear lobe before quickly losing momentum. Pidge grinned, looking back to her host. "Yeah it's pretty cute. Thanks Allura."

Allura had a gleam in her eye that caught Pidge slightly off guard. Her glasses slide down her nose. "Allura?"

"I have dresses that might fit you," she finally said, clearly in love with the improved girl's night. "You'd be all ready to go to a night at the Povhoa."

"The what?!" Pidge exclaimed, pushing her glasses back up.

"A fancy place to hear music," Allura explained, now looking quickly through the closet. "Our most popular music was generally instrumental. Coran was quite good with the gronglfax, he might give you a performance if you ask him."

Later, after Pidge had mistakenly brought up exactly this, Lance proceeded to insist on hearing all the details. Unfortunately this took Coran's attention away from Pidge and Hunk, who were trying to fix a particularly troublesome heating system in the pool area. That Lance had complained about and subsequently forgotten once he learned there was an alien musical instrument on board.

The gronglfax, as it turned out, was something that could have easily fit in a Dr. Seuss book. There was a nice drum kit in the center, with a horn instrument (a cross between a clarinet and a trumpet) attached to one side, and a harmonica to the other. It also had a keyboard, which when played, sounded like an organ when the sound came out of the massive tuba-like pipes.

"I'm a bit out of practice, but back in the day I could play a whole artestra in thirty tics!" Coran said proudly.

Lance seated himself behind the contraption. His eyes shone in childlike wonder as Coran proceeded to explain how it worked.

Eventually the repairs to the pool were complete. Curiosity winning out, Pidge and Hunk arrived in the middle of Lance's impromptu lesson.

"You guys have got to try this out. I could play on this all day," Lance said as he hit the drums a few times. He twirled the sticks to show off. In a moment his smug smile fell as he lost control and the sticks clattered to his feet.

Hunk and Pidge mutually found an unimpressed gaze in the other. "I don't want to work," Hunk said, a grin slowly growing bigger..

"I just want to play on the drums all day," Pidge finished, pleased with the Hunk's continuation of their game.

Lance pouted at the missed opportunity, but was soon cheered as his Garrison team wandered over to inspect the inner workings of the gronglfax.

Coran, used to the Earthling game, was more than happy to answer questions. Until he spotted Shiro looking quizzically at the lot of them from the entrance.

"Shiro! How would you like to take a spin on the gronglfax?"

"I'm good, thanks Coran," he said, waving a hand to pass. "I was just looking for everyone for training." He coughed purposefully, fist covering his mouth. "That means all Paladins."

This was met with a collective groan. Little did the younger paladins know how long their leader had been standing there.

Shiro caught on quickly, as they found out at a later mission briefing.

"Alright team, you know your targets. Any questions? …Lance?"

Lance put his hand down. "So the Verclorians like bright colors right?"

"That's right Number Three," Coran confirmed. "Their brains have the ability to take in a much wider spectrum of light than Earthlings or Alteans! They love a good story, too! The most popular form of entertainment is to decipher as many colors as possible and use them to create a holo image tale. All directly from their minds!"

Pidge also began to grin like a maniac. "That's amazing. I'd love to be able to apply that to the Castle! Less carpal tunnel!"

"Or, we could use it to make a legitimate holodeck," Hunk suggested, getting more excited by the second.

"Think about how much they would love a disco party!" Lance said, throwing up his arms.

It was faint, but Pidge swore she saw one of Allura's eyebrows twitch slightly. "This technology is the pride and joy of the Verclorians. I am not sure they would want to use it for a party."

"We'll deal with that after the Galra are defeated here," Shiro interjected. He was professional enough, but no one had missed his amused smile at the conversation. "To your Lions, everyone"

Allura forced a smile. "Best of luck. I'll be here if you need the Castle's support. Coran and I will come up with an appropriate celebration."

Coran chuckled. "Indeed. Hopefully you five will have everything handled and we'll have too much time on our hands."

It was hard to mistake the impish sparkle in Shiro's eyes as he spoke, as if he'd been waiting for just this moment. "Hard to believe such a calamity."

Lance and Hunk, who had in fact been on their way to their Lions, turned on a dime, mouths open just as wide as Pidge's gape. "I've got too much time on my hands?" she asked tentatively.

"It's ticking away from me," Shiro shrugged, grin still widely in place as he proceeded to take his elevator down to the Black Lion's hanger.

"Oh," Allura remarked. "That was another Earth reference, wasn't it?"

Keith sighed as he meandered over to his own elevator. "You guys aren't the only ones who know about Trivia Tuesday, you know."

"Oh, no. No way. I can understand Shiro, but you?" Lance laughed. "You lived in the desert, you probably don't know squat about pop culture history."

Keith smirked. "Yeah, I even had a horse with no name."

Lance gaped as Keith left the room, his mouth hanging open like a fish. "What - how?!"

"Come on, Lance," Hunk said, dragging his friend along, "you gotta admit it when Keith has a good burn."

"I'm not sure it's possible for Keith to burn," Coran mused. "The Red Lion is the guardian of fire."

"And with how protective the Red Lion is of Keith… I doubt it would allow him to get hurt like that," Allura agreed.

And just like that, all the humans were in on it.

The game became even more common. Allura and Coran would try to join, but not having the ins and outs of Earth music ingrained in their brains made it difficult. It was kind of nice though, to have a connection that the five of them shared outside of the Voltron bond. It was a good way to keep home in their minds while worlds away.

It would just be little moments, but the paladins would take them when they came.

"I just want to be alone right now," Keith would growl.

"Like a drifter," Pidge responded with a smirk. Keith couldn't help but smile and the two shared a casual fist bump.

"You've seen the difference," Pidge later told Hunk. "We need to work on getting some gendocams in the system."

"Open wide," Hunk responded automatically.

"What?" Pidge questioned.

"I'll stop the world and melt with you," Hunk said with a nudge. Pidge rolled her eyes with a slight groan that she'd unintentionally played the game. Hunk frowned. "That reminds me I need to get back to the kitchen soon and see if that new bean works as a chocolate substitute."

Hunk did just that later, accidentally burning a finger. "Ow! That's hot."

Lance slid across the kitchen floor, singing right on key. "I need some hot stuff baby tonight!"

And again on a new planet.

"Look at all the fish! Like actual fish in an actual blue sea! Not pink, or black, perfect blue!" Lance exclaimed, jumping up and down in excited.

"Joy to the world," Shiro responded, giving Lance a supportive hand on the shoulder.

In the end Shiro enjoyed the game the most. He would purposefully mold his words directly into lyrics from an old pop song just to see if the others would catch on.

"I'd be pleased to help you all train," Allura said brightly one morning. Shiro's smile held steady as the other paladins grimaced. They didn't stand a chance.

"I feel bad enough we've trained this long without you," Shiro said. "I'd never want to forget you, Allura."

"Always something there to remind me," Keith said quietly, with a wry smile.

And so all was well for the longest time. Voltron defended the universe and become more of a thorn in Zarkon's side.

The Castle responded to a distress signal, an old one- nearly as old as the Castle itself. Allura and Coran were understandably excited and hopeful.

"The Yveral were one of the first to join the original Voltron Alliance," Coran explained as the young paladins beheld the planet for the first time. Yvera was a beautiful dusty yellow and red, aligned into the shape of a pyramid albeit with more rounded corners.

"It reminds me of Arizona," Keith said with a small smile.

"It certainly remains a beautiful sight," Coran said as he pulled up several pictures on the main monitor. "These are a few memories of the very first visit!"

The planet's hues and rock features reminded Pidge of home as well. She'd spent too much time on the roof with her brother to not find the resemblance strong.

Yvera's people were equally unique, although not in the way the paladins would have imagined.

"They're ants," Pidge blurted out. "They're giant, humanoid ants."

"Can we maybe not respond to this distress call?" Hunk asked nervously. "Because I am definitely freaked out right now. Are they like, fire ants or normal ants?"

Lance side-eyed Keith, whose mouth was gaping open. "Don't say it, Keith. The last time you had that look on your face you wanted a pet dragon."

Hunk frowned. "I miss Herschel."

"I just think they're cool is all," Keith pouted sternly, crossing his arms.

"Okay team, that's enough," Shiro interjected. "Voltron responds to all distress calls. Right Allura?"

"Indeed. This is especially important. The Yveral could be a key ally in the fight against Zarkon," Allura agreed.

"Even in Alfor's time the Yveral were technologically advanced. I can scarcely imagine what they've achieved in ten thousand years." Coran reminisced and Shiro turned to Allura once again.

"Do we have any idea what the distress call says?"

"It does seem to be coded, but I'm not seeing any signs of the Galra anywhere on the planet. It could be internal strife." Allura frowned. "I am concerned we may be too late."

Pidge tapped her console, rotating the three dimensional image of the transmitter the signal was coming from. It was a circular ground based antenna, like the thousands arrayed back on Earth.

Pidge wrinkled her nose. After becoming accustomed to Altean technology, this was a bit underwhelming. "Considering the history I would have expected something a little more… advanced."

Coran twisted his mustache. "Hm. It is odd they would use an old eltrolian emitter. My grandfather would restore those old things for fun!"

"Okay," Shiro began, "we go in for a closer look. Surveillance only. Pidge, since the Green Lion has cloaking, you'll pilot the rest of us in."

"I'm coming with as well," Allura informed the team. A bright smile and politely folded hands barely disguised the non-negotiable terms. "They were part of the original Voltron Alliance. I feel like I owe them more help than a face on the monitor."

An awkward silence filled the bridge. One by one, varying degrees of concern focused back towards Shiro. Their leader gave them all a disappointed glare.

"Okay," Hunk began. "Let's talk about the Balmera in the room."

"Altean science can achieve amazing things, Number Two. Fitting a Balmera in a room isn't one of them."

"There are no Galra ships in the area. None of us are going to get separated. We can stay in pairs this way," Keith said in Allura's defense.

"I'm not saying it's a bad thing," Hunk explained. "I"m just worried that one, or a few of us, have a history of breaking off from the group. And bad things tend to happen."

Allura smiled reassuringly. "They were friendly ten thousand years ago, I'm sure they will be happy to see us again."

"Okay, so diplomacy mission then," Pidge stated. "I am definitely going to study their tech when we get down there."

Hunk gestured towards Pidge, completely unimpressed. "See? This is what i'm talking about."

"I would be more than happy to team up with Allura," Lance piped up quickly, before any further protest could be filed.

"We'll know more when we get down there," Shiro said, a bemused smirk on his face. "Everyone suit up and meet in the Green Lion hanger."

The Yveral were not in distress. Not in the way the Paladins expected anyway.

"We have been separated from the rest of the universe for far too long," Prime Minister said Lesan said. "We are grateful technologically advanced beings found us- Alteans at that!" His long brightly colored robes brushed along the floor as he showed the group inside the throne room.

It was an expansive area humbly made of the clay from the earth of the planet, the same as every other building in the city. Reddish-brown walls surrounded them on all four sides. The construction was not precise. While very smooth, the walls had lumps and bumps that meant they were not level. It gave the feeling of being underground even though the outside was very much above. Being the Queen's preferred area, columns were sprinkled with a golden dust that shimmered when the light from the skylights came through. Two guards stood at either side of the entryway.

"Our self imposed exile can now be lifted, especially now that we know our old allies still exist." Lesan shared a heartfelt look in Allura's direction.

Pidge did her very best to maintain a diplomatic smile, but couldn't help twitch at the oddness. The Yveral hadn't changed in the last ten thousand years and truly did look exactly like ants from Earth. They walked upright, towering at least a foot over the tallest of the paladins. It was unnerving to see their giant black eyes almost as big as their heads. It made for a scene out of an antiquated science fiction film.

Allura stood at the front of their group, with Shiro slightly behind her. "It is our pleasure. My father would often speak of your people in high regard. I always wanted to come visit for myself. I couldn't be happier to see that you have withstood the Galra."

The prime minister rubbed his thick, hairy arms together in glee. His pincers clicked in delight. "If we had known it would be you, Princess, we would have sent a more advanced distress signal. We were hoping even a newly intergalactic faring race would find us."

Shiro frowned. "How can Voltron help, exactly? You don't seem to be in any trouble."

"Even with our advances in technology, a long lifespan remains out of our reach," he began somberly. "As such, our progress has always been hindered by incomplete work of a generation. It takes years to bring youth up to the intellectual level to continue that work. My people only live for a short decade."

Pidge frowned and her heart went out to Yveral. "I can't imagine how frustrating that is."

Lesan nodded. "Incredibly so. Imagine our great surprise then, when the young King Alfor visited us. We had never heard of such a long life span. We are hoping to change this."

Keith raised an eyebrow. "How can you do that?"

"By asking for your assistance. We need one who can withstand the Eastern Plains. Our bravest have never returned despite all our achievements to withstand the prolonged exposure to our sun. Our bodies are not built for it. The Princess would be perfect with her shape-changing abilities. She would be as one of us to retrieve yverlian, the final material we need to nourish our bodies and live longer."

Allura was more than happy to agree to help, Shiro designating himself to go with her.

"The four of you keep an eye on things here," Shiro instructed. "Pidge I'd like you to stay close to the Green Lion, in case we need to get back to the Castle for any reason."

"Got it!" Pidge chirped with a smile.

"I am totally capable of going with Allura too," Lance said. His tone remained amazingly between genuine concern and pining. "You never know what is going to be out there."

"I appreciate the concern, Lance, but we'll be fine. I'd rather you stay here so you four can stay in pairs." Shiro gave him a pat on the shoulder, and did the same to Keith as he walked off. "Keep an eye out for each other. We'll keep comm channels open. Allura and I will be back before you know it. Keep it professional, but don't forget to have a little bit of fun, okay?"

"Got it, Shiro. We'll wait until we hear back from you or Coran," Keith responded.

"Thanks Team, see you all in a bit." With a short wave Shiro left to join where Allura and the prime minister had already into a hover car.

Once they were away, Pidge turned to the others. "I'm headed for their lab. Lesan said it was the building in the middle of the city. There's probably lots of cool tech in there that we can replicate for the Castle. You want in, Hunk?"

Hunk frowned. "Something doesn't feel right."

"It's probably just weird to look at giant alien bugs. I know it's giving me a little bit of creeps too," Lance sympathized .

"No, no. It's not that," Hunk continued, worried. "This whole place just seems off. Like, why would they use old equipment to send a distress call? And they looked at us really weird like, we were exactly what they needed for some evil plan."

"...I guess I didn't really like the way the prime minister looked at Allura," Lance pouted. "Creepy black eyes… he had no pupils!"

"He looked at you the same way," Pidge said dryly. Lance visibly shivered in horror.

"I want to check out their weapons," Keith said. "I'll pass on the lab."

"I'm checking out their old tech. Something still smells fishy," Hunk said.

"I want to find something fun." Lance paused. "Something fun that doesn't involve studying or fighting," he amended accusingly.

"We can't all go in different places. Shiro told us to stick together," Keith reminded them. "He's only been gone for half a minute."

"It's not going to hurt if we split off for like, an hour," Pidge argued. "That's all the time I need."

"I'll even do something diplomatic!" Lance agreed. "The Lesan said the Queen would want to see us soon, right? I'll go give us an epic first impression." He preened, dramatically pulling his hair back.

Keith was not impressed. "Lance, you are the last person I'd want to meet the Queen first."

"Oh like you would be any better," Lance growled. "But fine. I am going out on the town. Tonight is going to be a good night."

"Yeah, it's not going to be a good, good night," Hunk said, frown solidly in place. "I'm telling you something is up. The last time I had a feeling like this, Lance got tied to a tree."

"Then take Lance on an adventure in the city," Pidge said, tapping her foot impatiently. "If anyone could find a mystery on an alien planet, its you two."

Lance seemed to take that as a personal challenge. "Where better to uncover the truth than at social gatherings?" He dramatically lifted an arm, turned a half circle, and pointed towards the city. "To the party, Hunk!"

"Let us know if you find anything weird, Pidge." Hunk held himself back only long enough for that last statement before hastily jogging after Lance, who had already made it to the door.

Keith tried to remain dispassionate as they left, but his eyes never left the curved swords the honor guards carried. It was long enough for Pidge to notice.

"You come with me to the lab, and I'll go with you to check out their cool weapons after that," Pidge offered with a smile. "They've probably got some really cool tech for that too."

Keith's mouth twinged into a smile. "Sounds good, Pidge. Lead the way."

The two of them found a guard to take them to the center of town. They entered a building that rivaled the palace in size.

Upon entering, it was as if they were in a whole other world. Instead of the dirt walls, white pristine metal walls at ninety degree angles. Computers and other machinery lined every inch of the walls.

"This is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," Pidge whispered in reverence. Her eyes welled tears.

Keith caught himself with his mouth gaping, "Woah. I admit, this is impressive."

Pidge couldn't take it any longer. She was going to burst if she couldn't check out everything. Grabbing the first loose piece of tech from a nearby table she gasped.

"Keith this is a scanner! It's even smaller than ours!"

"I see you've picked up on our latest helix cube. You have good taste, Paladin," a feminine voice interjected.

One of the Yveral dressed in white linen from shoulder to toe greeted them. Upon her head a gold circlet rested. A disarming smile matched her graceful and light footsteps.

This was the only female Yveral they'd met so far.

"You're Queen Yerva," Keith said quickly.

"A pleasure to meet you Paladins," Yerva confirmed. "My apologies I could not see you upon your landing. I was in the middle of conducting a sleep study for the young ones. I could not leave until they all woke."

"You're a queen AND a scientist?" Pidge exclaimed. "That's so cool!"

"None are denied advanced education here. It is encouraged. I'm sure Prime Minister Lasen told you of our woes regarding lifespan," she said. Her antennae drooped in sorrow.

"He did," Pidge said sadly. "I know it's hard to pick up on someone else's research. And so often too. I can tell scientific study is really important to you."

Yerva nodded. "As Queen I will live slightly longer. My duties to research overweight my duties as queen. I have come to see them as one and the same. I would be proud to show you my current project."

"I would love to see it!" Pidge grinned.

"Sure," Keith followed, interest piqued.

"Thanks for coming Keith. I really appreciate it. I don't know how often I'll get to study alien tech like this."

"I'm just glad you're happy, Pidge. It is pretty cool."

Yerva led them to an interface not unlike those on the Castle. With a swish of the Queen's fingers, Pidge was handed a see through purple keyboard. "With this you may access all of our acquired knowledge as a people."

Pidge felt not unlike her five year old self in a toy store. Finding the home directory, she didn't know where to start. The topics listed went on and on as they flashed across the screen. The Yveral were making headway in fields she could have only dreamed of.

"I believe this one may be of special interest to you," Yerva said. The Queen reached over Pidge's shoulder and selected a page to display on screen. Pictures of canisters filled with a yellow substance.

"Is that... quintessence?" Keith asked. He had moved closer, and was also looking over his teammate's shoulder. His eyebrows furrowed in question more than usual.

"It is. When the Alteans introduced it to us ten thousand years ago, it sparked a revolution in sciences. The practical use of it is our most important field of study, and I have been working on it personally. In fact, if all goes well, today we will put our latest hypothesis to the test."

Pidge frowned as she felt Keith stiffen next to her. The Red Paladin was instinctual by nature. If he felt off, then that was good enough reason to be on guard. Not to mention Hunk's earlier guy feeling. The Alteans and Galra were the only other species they knew of that manipulated quintessence. If the Yveral were doing so…

"Quintessence is life force. How are you extracting it?" Pidge asked. She kept her voice steady, forcing herself to look up at the Queen's face, needing to see a reaction.

"The Galra have already developed the art of using quintessence to extend a natural life," Yerva began. Her eyes were just as black as before, but now they felt empty and cold. "We have intercepted shipments, but their refinement does not suit our biology. We have found another way."

Pidge glanced back at the monitor. The details of the experiment were laid out in front of her. Now it was obvious they were not only jealous of Allura's long life, but intended to harvest it. Keith didn't wait for Pidge to speak the conclusion out loud. His bayard morphed to its sword form and there was an immediate clash. She turned her helmet comm on. "Allura? Shiro? Can you hea-"

She was silenced by a blade scraping up against her neck.

"Pidge? Everything okay?" Shiro responded. "Allura and I are almost at the quarry."

"Tell them you are well," the Queen said sharply. She held the ceremonial knife tight, putting pressure on the Green Paladin's skin.

Pidge didn't speak right away, first assessing the situation. Keith had been subdued by rather convenient guards. The two of them locked eyes, both frustrated with how quickly the situation had gone south.

Allura's life was in immediate danger. Pidge had to let them know what was going on. The only way to do that was by code. There were numerous ways of secret communication in the universe. The problem was making it not obvious to their captors that one was being used. A different language was out of the question and so were most forms of Garrison taught methods. Every code Pidge knew of required a computer.

She needed something easy and something that Shiro would understand instantly as code. The alternative was to say nothing and doom her team, or warn them and risk the Queen killing her and Keith immediately.

Queen kill her.

Kill her queen.

Killer Queen.

Pidge took a deep breath. "Sorry Shiro. Everything's all caviar and cigarettes here. Keith and I are just getting a guided tour."

Shiro was silent for longer than Pidge had hoped. "Getting well versed in Yveral ettique then? Well done Pidge. Lance and Hunk doing okay?"

"You know Lance, never the same address," Pidge continued. She ran the song in her head, trying to pick out more useful pieces. She tried not to show how relieved she was that Shiro understood.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt guys." Hunk's voice said. "Lance and I found some food that's guaranteed to blow your minds. We'll bring samples back to the Castle."

"That's enough conversation," Yerva said sharply. She turned to the guards. "Take their helmets."

"This tastes like pineapple!" Lance exclaimed through the comms. He gasped soon after. Pidge's helm was taken from her head awkwardly, pulling unintentionally on the single earring Allura had given her weeks ago.

The same one that allowed her to continue seamlessly listen to her team's conversation without her helmet comm.

"O.M.G. It's legitimate chocolate!" Hunk continued. "I can't even right now you guys."

Pidge's focus was taken away from the boys and back to her own situation with a jolt. The sensitive hairs on Yerva's arm tickled Pidge's cheek as her gaze was forcefully directed away from Keith and back to the computer screen.

"You won't get away with this," Pidge told her.

"My people have prepared for this moment for ten thousand years. Waiting for the moment when the Alteans returned." Yerva's voice grew raspy and angrier with each word. "Returned with their ridiculously long life. Our civilization could have thrived had we such a gift."

"It's not Allura's fault. You can't do this to her!" Keith yelled.

"For my people I can and I will. Prime Minister Lesan will have led them to the quintessence drain by now. You will enter in the code I give you in order to activate the device."

"What? No!" Pidge yelled. A frustrated growl from Keith made her look over to him in the corner of her eye. A very lethal plasma gun was leveled a bit too closely to his head. A reminder that Pidge didn't have much choice in the matter.

"Don't do it Pidge," Keith warned, even though the gun powered up behind him.

"Dude, you are not going to flirt with the Queen," came Hunk's voice in a separate conversation.

"Because I don't have the perfect line," Lance complained. The telltale whoosh of a bayard activating rang clear through the communicator. Keith's eyebrows perked up, his eyes discreetly looking up towards a glassed window. Pidge heard it as well, the exact same sound echoing through the earring. "I'll run a couple by you."

"Lance, you give love a bad name."

Shot through the heart. Lance was waiting for a signal. Pidge didn't know how he was going to make the shot from that window. It was at least 200 yards and she had no idea what his target would be.

Well, that was up to her and Keith apparently. But they couldn't. Not yet. Shiro and Allura were still in danger. They couldn't alert the prime minister the game was over.

"Why don't you enter the code yourself?" she asked. "Why have me do it?"

"To run a machine to harvest quintessence, one must power it via the same." Pidge's eyes grew wide in realization tried to resist, but soon her palm was forced to rest flat against the interface.

"Stop it!" A loud thump compelled Pidge to turn her head in time to see Keith fall to the ground. The blow from the back of a gun hadn't rendered him unconscious, but certainly very dazed.

"Code Alpha 5280 Omega 2754. Activate quintessence manufacturing," Yerva commanded.

The interface lit up, signifying that it was powering up. Nearly as quickly as it began, Pidge felt a slight headache coming on. Looking down at her hand, tiny strands of green colored energy flowed out of her and into the nearby computer. A knee buckled, but she managed to keep her balance by shifting to the other leg. She was getting drowsy.

Pidge didn't know how much quintessence this machine needed, but already she knew that at full power she wouldn't live long enough to see it. And if it worked, neither would Allura.

"Allura and I are still on our way, team," said Shiro finally through the comms. Pidge forced herself to listen closely. "It's turning out to be a bright, bright sunshiny day out here."

That was all Pidge needed to hear. The rain and the dark clouds were metaphorically gone, Lesan was neutralized. Shiro and Allura were safe and headed back. Now it was up to her. She grunted, trying to first tear her hand away from the console. Yerva's grip remained firm.

"There is no use to struggle. It will only hurt more."

Pidge stilled and grinned wickedly. "Hit me with your best shot."

Lance fired away.

He shot twice in quick succession. The first hit Keith's guard on his helmet, the momentum causing him to sway. Keith wasted no time in knocking the guard's feet out from under him with a sweep, completing the Yveral's fall to the ground.

The second shot hit Yerva in the shoulder, causing her to release her grip on Pidge and allowing the Green Paladin to escape. Not before the Queen stretched her long arms in an attempt to recapture her hostage, latching onto Pidge's earring and ripping it loose.

Pidge yelped in pain, but it only helped her shake the drowsiness and focus her next action. She activated her bayard and punched it into the console.

"No! What are you doing! That's thousands of generations of research and development!"

"Saving my friends!" Pidge told her. "I won't let you hurt them!" The hook detached itself and the string wrapped around Yerva. Then electricity surged through it.

"Pidge, let's get out of here," Keith said, picking up his helmet and putting it back on. "They'll have backup."

The Green Paladin growled and turned towards the Queen, barely recovered from the electrocution. "If you try something like this again, your computer won't be the only thing I tear apart."

"Do not let them escape!" The Queen ordered in response.

The arms of Voltron ran together through the door to the outside. A guard attempted to follow but was instead met with a fist. More tried to follow, but the group soon met rapid covering fire.

"Stop trying to kill my friends!" Hunk said once he was finished, clearly annoyed. "Is that really so much to ask for?"

XXXXX

"So hold on," Lance said. "If I've got my math right, the Yveral live for 100 years?"

The crew stood in a vague circle on the bridge of the Castle. The debriefing took place several hours after their safe exit from Yvera. They had elected to wormhole away to consider the situation before the Yveral could follow after them.

"That's right," Coran confirmed before going back to explaining. "It takes ten deca-pheobs to make one rotation around their sun."

"I can understand the confusion when my father arrived here," Allura said. Her face quite sympathetic for a people who had nearly succeeded in draining her life. "The detail of the time translation must have been lost over the generations."

"We got lucky today, team." Shiro uncrossed his arms and gave a smile in Pidge's direction. "Good quick thinking, Pidge. Allura and I wouldn't have caught onto something being wrong without you."

"Yeah I was so confused why you were using a food reference," Hunk said. "But like, that was what got us thinking something was off when Lance starting humming."

"Hey, it's a catchy tune!" Lance said in defense of himself. "Once Shiro caught on we both kind of realized it at the same time. You picked the perfect song Pidge."

"I wouldn't have thought of it if it hadn't been for you guys," Pidge said, blushing at the praise. "I'm sorry about your earring, Allura. I was enjoying wearing it too."

"Things happen in battle," the Princess smiled softly. "I may not understand what you all are talking about all the time but I'm thankful it was able to keep you all safe."

Pidge nodded. "It really means a lot that we have something like that to share. It may not be complicated to us, but it's a code all the same."

"We're connected through Voltron and Earth," Keith said with a small smile. "We can lean on each other." Shiro returned the smile and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"It is perfect actually," Allura said. "Not only does it strengthen the Voltron bond between you, it does also give us a tactical advantage against Zarkon."

Hunk laughed. "Can you imagine Zarkon singing along to Uptown Funk or something."

"More like decked out in sunglasses and singing along with the Beatles," Lance continued, a goofy grin plastered on his face.

Keith grimaced. "I could have lived without that thought."

"No way," Pidge snorted. "Zarkon would be into dental 80s."

Shiro gave Allura and Coran an apologetic smile. "All of those would be ironic."

The Alteans shared a confused look between each other before turning once again to the Black Paladin.

"Dental?"


End file.
